An Unfortunate Happenstance
by Habaeus Diem
Summary: Reid makes an interesting discovery while doing night surveillance, and it's of no use to the current case. Hotch is irked, Morgan is down his throat, and only the women seem to understand his actions, but only for a while, that is...
1. The Unraveling

I don't own Criminal Minds, any or its characters, etc. Just the typical, valuable-if-you-get-sued disclaimer there. Only character I own here is Haley, just because it seemed a good idea to throw Reid a curveball and see how he (and my mind when writing as him) takes it.

* * *

It had been a long, dark night on surveillance for Dr. Reid. He'd been running on over-sugared coffee and cashews for hours. Prentiss sat next to him in the car, noshing cashews from the same over-sized bag, as it was supposedly a low-risk job-only watching a very rural neighborhood for the night to get the feel for the Virginia neighborhood's rhythms and what made it so predictable to the Un-Sub. It was a hilly place, with rolling tilts and rocky, dusty road, large paddocks filled with sheep, cows, and horses. Large oak trees showed as black shadows against a dark sky. The sky itself seemed alive with the absence of streetlights, and one could imagine that in a night this dark, all the stars in the universe were visible.

Suddenly, screams for mercy came from one of the few still-lit homes. It rang out clearly, and Reid and Prentiss were able to hear it without the typical noise pollution of the city, making it even more eerie. A teenaged girl was thrown outside the house with a hard, driving punch to the center of the face, and she scrambled off the porch and into the adjoining horse stalls as fast as she could. The door slammed behind the man, who retreated into the house.

Though Prentiss was watching hawk-eyed, Reid was even more intent upon the girl. He took all the time he had when not working or visiting his mother to counsel kids in the adoptive system, and this particular one brought back a memory.

_A blue-eyed, black-haired mid-teen sat across from him at the table. Her barely-over-five-foot-three frame was curled up with her knees to her chest, and everyone else had left the room for their first session. He was a psychologist, they reasoned, and this was a tough case. She shivered visibly, eyeing him as if he, the physical equivalent of a paper bag, was going to give her a beating right then and there._

_Over the course of several sessions, he was finally able to get her to trust him-and only him-to touch her. He would spend a good half hour opening up every session with primitive trust exercises, the hardest of which was for her to fall back and him to catch her. She had never quite trusted him to catch her, but after she fell back even halfheartedly, he would catch her and sit across the table again to start the talking part of the session._

_Before she left, she spoke about being adopted out to a place with horses, and had been told that she was expected to train them. She'd been excited, and both therapist and patient hoped for the best._

Prentiss wasn't able to stop him from getting out of the car, and so got out with him.

"Haley…" he called out softly. "I know you know my vo-ice…Ha-a-le-ey…" He kept his calls soft and low for fear that the man would come out before he could get her location.

"Here", Haley replied, quietly, crouched in a sea of equine limbs. "Is he out?" she whispered with considerable volume and urgency.

"No; he's inside", Reid whispered back. "We'll arrest him for abuse right now; you go over to the car and lock yourself inside. It'll all be over before you know it."

She nodded and took off, still in a low crouch, skittishly skirting Prentiss' legs on her way to the car.

"What was that all about?" Prentiss asked.

"She was one of my worst therapy cases."

"You do therapy?"

"In my free time, with adoption-system kids", Reid replied nonchalantly, walking somewhat awkwardly up to the door and knocking, a hand on his gun and Prentiss in tow. "FBI! Open up!"

The door opened slowly, and a large man in blue jeans and a flannel shirt stepped out.

"Yes?" he asked with marked indifference.

"You're under arrest for child abuse", Reid said in anger. Before, it was just an objective thing, a happening, but to _witness _it…it made one's blood boil, even in his peaceable veins, to see life so mistreated.

"It's not abuse if it doesn't leave a mark lasting over 24 hours!"

Reid looked over his shoulder at other crouching kids. "Well, the blonde girl seems to have quite a few bruises over 24 hours old, judging by the color…as I said, you're under arrest for child abuse." He handcuffed the man without a fight and led him to the car. While Prentiss called Hotchner to inform him of the new development and the fact that they would need a large van or small bus to transport the kids, seemingly unrelated to the case, out of there.


	2. A Few New Beginnings

Thanks all for the support!

Again, I don't own any of the characters except for Haley.

* * *

"What is this?" Hotchner asked Reid in anger, pointing to the van with the kids being loaded into it. "And who is she?" He pointed to the girl in the back seat. "You don't even know if this will convict!"

"I…I had probable cause." Reid, the motormouth, had only that meager bit to say in his defense.

"WHAT happened to your surveillance?"

"I was watching", Reid began quietly, "and suddenly I heard screaming. This girl was shoved out the door, the suspect hit her in the face, a-and" Reid said with the characteristic speeding up that was normal to his speech, "she ran off to the side."

"Wait-" Hotch began.

Reid rambled over his interjection without missing a beat. "I remembered her from therapy sessions where I worked with her, and Hotch…I couldn't just sit there and do nothing."

"You're lucky if this Un-Sub doesn't snap when this hits the media!" Hotchner shouted, stalking off. Reid leaned against the car, Dilaudid calling his name. He had to fight it, and he did, as was his custom, in a brooding state. His head was down, hair falling to the front, so he didn't look like a human being in the slight flashes of the red-and-blue police lights that played across his frame at predictable intervals.

Morgan came up, whisking him out of this state.

"You really screwed it up this time, kid. You know this Un-Sub, and if he doesn't snap, I don't know if he ever will. Hotch told me what happened. You can't let your head get in the way like that", he growled, "and I don't think you want any more victims with their guts torn out!"

Reid nodded, slumping his shoulders and hanging his head, crossing his arms tightly as if this action could both protect him and make him look less worthy of a scolding.

His speechlessness tempted Morgan to continue, but he figured it was better left alone before Reid reached his breaking point. As he understood it, Reid lived close to it as things stood, and would reach it in time. He gave Reid one last angry glance-he couldn't help it-and forced himself to walk away.

Prentiss, noticing Reid's pitiful posture, went over.

"What, you here to tear me a new one, too?" he asked somewhat bitterly.

"No", she said, hugging him. "I came over to tell you that even though I can't officially approve of your actions, you did the right thing. This UnSub is cruel, but it's better to aggravate him than to leave helpless kids to be abused."

"Thanks." Reid clamped his arms around her, nested his head on her shoulder for a moment, and sighed as he leaned back against the car.

"You okay?"

"I will be", Reid said, looking upwards at the stars as the frosty night air chilled his neck and nipped repetitively at his nose, clearly contemplating something far beyond Prentiss' own intelligence threshold.

Reid's phone rang, and he answered it.

"This is Spencer Reid."

"Hi, sweetheart!" It was Garcia. "Prentiss just sent me a text about Hotch and Morgan both tearing you a new one. You did right, and I'll do whatever I can on my end to make sure you have…oh! CPS just put Haley in your custody, it seems. Now, they'd like to know if this should be a permanent adoption or a one-month foster stay."

"Um…just a second. Let me check with her." He walked to the other side of the car and opened the right passenger side door, grinning boyishly.

Haley looked at him, not in the eyes, but looked at him nonetheless.

"Haley", he said.

"Yessir?"

"How would you like me to get you out of this system? I have a legal adoption by me with your name on it if you want it."

Haley's jaw nearly fell and she nodded in excitement.

"Yes, Garcia, it's a legal adoption."

"Alright! The paperwork will be shipped to your address by tomorrow afternoon! Now, is there anything else that Her Excellency may do for you?"

"Nothing else, Garcia; just know you're awesome." Reid smiled as he looked at Haley, and she herself beamed happily.

"Of course, sweetness, I am, indeed, awesome, and when I get back, know that you owe me a latte..." She trailed off and hung up.

Reid shuffled for a moment in his crouching position to put the phone away. Then he looked again at Haley.

"It's a legal adoption now", he said. "Get everything that's in your name, and we'll clear out of here."

She left, and he led the suspect to a police car, where he was cornered by yet more officers and interviewed _again_…and _again_…for the third time since they'd showed up.

Haley, however, didn't notice and wasn't delayed at all. She simply kept her head down and skirted the crowd of blue with an air of don't-notice-me nonchalance.

The interviews were finishing twenty minutes later, and Haley came out with a few small bags. She put them in the surveillance car and walked over to the police car.

"Ma'am, you can't go in there." An officer blocked her way, to which she stepped backwards, only to encounter another officer, and one on either side blocked her escape. She was wide-eyed with fright and only would trust Reid, whom she saw just beyond the officers. She bolted with an affrighted leap and was caught. Once in their hands, however, she went mostly limp, hanging her head and beginning to shake quite noticeably.

"Um…I think this is the one girl that we haven't interviewed yet, the one that nerd guy over there told us about", an officer remarked.

Haley nodded weakly, unable to do much else, before closing her eyes and again going limp, as if in defeat, forcing the officers to support the bulk of her weight.

"Hey, Reid!" another officer called.

Reid looked over and came in short order. He took Haley from the officers and stood her upright, soothing her for a moment so she could turn and face the questions. This was by no means an easy task, but it was helped by the fact that she was near the one person she knew _wouldn't_ hurt her, even if extremely tempted and given the opportunity.

"I was just going to ask him if he put that big black warmblood horse in my name like he said he was going to", she explained defensively, eyes averted, nearly crouching. "I don't want him sent to slaughter or some facility where he's just a number."

"We're not worried about that", the first officer said with an air of professionalism. "We just wanted to know what happened on your end. What did you witness?"

"He came in and started beating me because I didn't get a high enough jump out of the five-year-old today", she said, pressing her back to Reid for reassurance, "and then he took me towards the knives. Told me he was going to slit my throat. I begged, like I do every night when he beats me and threatens me, and that's when he threw me out like he always does, and he punched me between the eyes, I guess as a warning. Then I ran off through the bars so I was in with the horses and out of his sight. Then Reid and some other girl got out of the car across the street. He called to me and told me to lock myself in the car, and he went with the other girl and arrested Master." As she spoke, one could not help but notice the speed of her detachment from her situation. At first, she was a bag of nerves, but with reassurance, she recited the happenings as if she were answering the written response portion of a test, albeit with sentence fragments.

"Master? Did he make you call him that so you never knew his name?" Reid asked.

She could only nod defeatedly and press close. He patted her on the head and rubbed at her shoulders. "An-and...and for the power", she was finally able to add hesitantly. "Like the rest of them", she added bitterly, slipping down into emotion again.

"It's okay", he soothed, "I'm your legal guardian. You know I won't hurt you."

"Kidnapping?" the officer asked.

"No. Let's just say I have a miracle co-worker."

"Computers?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Oh."

Hotchner intercepted Reid and Haley. "We need to go. There's been another discovery."

Reid nodded grimly and led Haley to the surveillance car, trying to shield her from the happenings around her, instinctively blocking her view of the house, carefully guiding her to the places with less people to worry about.


	3. A First Bedtime Story

I don't own Criminal Minds or any characters. I own only the splatter of words and Haley. ALSO: I do not own the Canterbury Tales, and I got the Middle English version from the Project Gutenberg website. Also note-the excerpt is Middle English, which has no spelling rules (which is what makes it Middle English.) It's not misspelled. It's Middle English. Capische?

* * *

"What is it?" Haley asked. Prentiss had left in one of the BAU vans, and he'd been left alone with someone that, despite her estimated IQ of 140, had been heavily traumatized, needed socialization, and would raise Cain if she was _ever_ in an uncomfortable situation and he wasn't right there to comfort her, maybe because, oh, _she trusted him EXCLUSIVELY_.

Oh, and he had to care for her at least till she was 18.

Reality was beginning to sink in just an eensy bit.

"What happened?" she asked again.

"It's not being released yet." Reid set his jaw determinedly, not willing to share the roost. No; she was under his care, and thus, the roost was _his_. It had always been _his_, and he would go to lengths to ensure that it remained _his. _Personal-or company-business had to remain as such; he simply had to draw the line early on so Haley would respect it.

"Well, at least, can you tell me why you came to the neighborhood tonight? From the way those two men yelled at you, they didn't seem too happy. Like they hadn't authorized any of it or something like that." Haley had picked up on the subtle "I'm-not-saying" cues and scrambled deperately to get a foot in the door.

"Can we just leave it at the 'something like that'?" Reid asked.

Haley hoped to take advantage of the distraction that driving posed. "Will you tell me later if I drop it now?"

"Of course", Reid replied, right hand sliding off the steering wheel to take the tense teen's left hand. He was struck by the ease he'd just exhibited in slipping into therapy mode with her, and that he'd also just given up the solitude of his roost, perhaps for a long time.

Maybe you couldn't be objective about everything. He moved his hand back to the wheel.

"Any interesting new papers you've been writing?" Thank God; she was changing the subject.

"Mostly mathematics papers. Now, I discovered an interesting behavior that triangles exhibit when the sine, cosine, and tangent are all moved one side to the right; it doesn't apply to the left; it's worked on all possible triangle proportions insofar…"

Reid rambled on, and Haley let him go, curling up and resting her head on the console, turning a few vents her way and turning the car's heat on. His rambling was the Reid trademark, and she felt safer when he rambled anyway. It was easiest to be with an innocent compulsive intellectual at a 47 IQ point advantage over her to learn from. It was either be with and learn from Reid, or be with a sadist and learn everything that way.

"…and so would be a valuable theorem for usage in nearly all practical applications." He looked at her, and she nodded, raising an eyebrow.

"I can't top that. I couldn't even follow half of it", she admitted simply, flicking her eyes up to note his facial expression, fearing disappointment would flash across. She always felt that her mind was too quick amongst the general populace and too slow around Reid.

"You'll learn", he said, gaze remaining ahead, any thoughts he had on her simplicity concealed safely inside his head. "You have an interesting way of learning; I would imagine it's how you're able to keep up with me sometimes. In fact, if you're comfortable with it, I'd like to perform some tests on you…brain scans, learning experiments, and memory work, those types of things. They wouldn't hurt unless you consent to the painful tests."

_So he approves of me after all_, she thought. "Sure; it's worth a try, right?" He was a profiler. Of course he would want to know how she learned. She would describe her learning style as "mixed", but wasn't sure if he'd accept the explanation without clear, measurable data.

"Then you just might be the subject of another paper." Reid was hoping that this would get her to ask and wonder, but by his figuring she'd either dismissed it or was falling asleep.

Haley said nothing in reply; she was beginning to drowse in the warm air.

"Come on, stay up." Reid ruffled her hair a little and gave her a few pats on her shoulder. "You got hit in the face. It's best for you to stay up. You might have head trauma, and you need to stay up so you can be monitored."

"Hnnn.." she moaned, not caring that a bump in the road upset the hair on half her head, moving it down across her face like a veil.

"Stay up." Clearly, talking would get him nowhere. He poked his hand into her side.

"EEEEE!" she squealed, drawing back and batting his hand away with an air of mild playfulness. She shook her head back and forth to resituate her errant hair and rested her head on the console again.

"Stay up or I'm going to have to poke you again." Reid took a moment to try and catch her eye, succeeding in the two seconds he had to make eye contact before he had to pay attention to the dark, rough road once more.

"Doctor Reid?"

"You don't have to call me Doctor Reid any more. You can call me Reid, or if you eventually get comfortable calling me Spencer, you can address me by that." He didn't mention "dad" as a title. He could only imagine how painful a thing that would be for her.

"Yessir." Her response was automatic, as though she literally had no control over it.

"I'm not 'sir' either. Please, call me Reid at least. It feels awkward not to be called Reid. But what were you trying to say earlier?"

Curiosity had bested Haley, and she'd decided to ask a question that might have a very emotional answer. "What brought you into this?"

"I, um…", Reid trailed off, trying not to reconnect with the pain, but only with the facts. "My mother was a paranoid schizophrenic. She's where I got my intelligence from. My father left when I was young. I lived with my mother. She raised me, and when I was 18, I committed her involuntarily to…" he trailed off again, choking up.

"I'm sorry", Haley apologized. "Don't say anything else. I won't put you through that. At least now I understand. I get it, trust me."

"Would you mind telling me your story now?" he asked her, basing his decision to ask the question on the same calculation Haley had performed, except with the addition of the added pressure to reciprocate that he'd generated by opening up to her in the first place. "I know you were afraid to tell me before because you were vulnerable and you were sure I would leave you, which happened, but it won't happen again. Have you ever heard me to make a statement about my intentions that was untrue?"

"No, you haven't", she admitted, nesting her forearms on the console and leaning her head on his shoulder. His had been the only shoulder she'd ever been offered to cry on, and she was glad to have it back. "My parents. I don't know who they are. They left me for dead outside a fire station. The truck stopped before it ran me over…" It was her turn to choke up.

"Shh, shh, quiet, relax", Reid soothed. "Don't get in over your head just because I ask. This can wait if it makes you uncomfortable-"

"No", she cut him off firmly. "You need to know." Her tone became more factual than emotional. It was stoic, staccato, and stubborn. "Anyhow, the firetruck stopped before it ran me over, and I grew up in the foster system. Every ten homes or so, I'd meet someone halfway decent to me, and I would push them away so they'd give me up. I guess the pain was the only constant thing I was used to, and I was-I still can be-cold and nasty. I used to use it as a defense all the time. A lot of the houses were all the same. It was one after another, and it didn't matter if there were five kids there or fifty; they treated us all the same.

"Things changed when I was in one of the state homes and they made me go to therapy." Her one of voice changed, becoming more emotional, more connected with reality, as if she had detached from the worst of her reality and was aware that she could re-connect; that the pain was over now. "At first, I hated you. I didn't know what you had to contribute and you seemed to have no practical experience with a good deal of what I'd been through. I was afraid of you, too. You scared me, because in my experience, it's always the wiry ones that are more vicious, like they have to make up for their lack of imposing qualities. But then something happened. Maybe it was just that you were willing to sit there and wait for me. It was nice. I wasn't being forced. In fact, I'm sure that's what did it. The fact that you were bullied so badly came out eventually, and that helped me trust you more, too. Then I got adopted out, got yanked away from you, and went back into the cycle for a while, and then here you are. It's like God's got a plan", she said.

"You believe?" he asked her, suddenly.

Haley nodded, silent and meek-looking. There wasn't much she could say; she was young yet and not very spiritually mature.

"So…um…we've both had pretty nasty childhoods", Reid said, scrambling desperately for something that wasn't so personal to talk about. "Anything you want to know…maybe about what a normal childhood should be? What yours should have been? I know you always asked about it. I had some answers, but I wasn't sure you wanted to hear them."

"Is it true about the young years, where the parent supposedly reads the child to sleep?" Haley was clearly wondering, and her deep sapphire eyes begged for an answer. Her angular complexion rounded more softly with her innocent expression, and Reid was struck with the innocence of inexperience, and also the sadness that a fourteen year old girl wouldn't know about something as simple as a bedtime story.

"Yes, it's true. My mother actually was one of the best at this. It's a bit extreme, and typically the behavior ceases between five and seven years of age, but my mother was reading me to sleep right up until the day I committed her."

"What's it like?" she asked, eyes now brimming with curiosity and wonder, face still set in that innocent expression.

_The rules, though useful, need to be discarded just this once_, he thought, noting that his logic was unsound but going with his impulses anyway. "Why don't you lay your head down on the console again? Relax."

"Is this one of those therapeutic trust exercises again?" She wasn't a fan, and her tone displayed that fact clearly, but this time, as the road smoothed out with a 90 degree right turn, she seemed willing to comply, even if only to satisfy her curiosity.

"It's similar. Trust me when I say you want to do this. You're curious to know what a bedtime story is like, right?"

She lay her head down and relaxed as suggested, eyes half-shut and legs folded on the passenger seat.

"What story do you want to hear?" It was a question his mother had asked him every night, and he unconsciously imitated her, softening his typically-academic tone and lowering his volume, producing what he hoped would be a soothing effect.

"I don't know", she replied, opening her eyes fully to gaze at the stars through the windshield. "Whatever you were hearing at this age, I guess."

"How does one of the Canterbury Tales sound? It's classic-"

"-fifteenth century literature", she finished for him. "How about the Knight's Tale? Is that a typical story? Lots of imagery, storybook ending and all that?"

"Except for the part where battle-winning knight dies, but I know what you're getting at. If you look at it in a classical sense, I suppose you could label it as storybook." With this, the topic shifted from a mere bedtime story to academia, and the tones of both speakers reflected that fact.

"That's the sense I look at a lot of things in", Haley replied, dropping the academia and drifting again to her emotions. "It helps me cope with a lot of the things I've been through, to know that people in history considered the events normal." Her sweet innocence, for a moment, was stripped away, but it returned in force, again lending a soft lilt to her voice, a slight childlike semblance to her movements and face. She looked at Reid through starry eyes again. "Can you start telling me the story now?"

Her head on the console, and his hand on the wheel, he began to recite line after line of Middle English poetry in the drowsily warm car, enunciating carefully, conveying emotion skillfully, and crafting a story in vivid detail, remaining true to Chaucer's original words, very much reminiscent of the way his mother had once read to him:

"Whylom, as olde stories tellen us,  
Ther was a duk that highte Theseus;  
Of Athenes he was lord and governour,  
And in his tyme swich a conquerour,  
That gretter was ther noon under the sonne.  
Ful many a riche contree hadde he wonne;  
What with his wisdom and his chivalrye,  
He conquered al the regne of Femenye,  
That whylom was y-cleped Scithia;  
And weddede the quene Ipolita,  
And broghte hir hoom with him in his contree  
With muchel glorie and greet solempnitee,  
And eek hir yonge suster Emelye.  
And thus with victorie and with melodye  
Lete I this noble duk to Athenes ryde,  
And al his hoost, in armes, him bisyde..."

By the time the crime scene had been reached an hour later, Haley was asleep, perhaps more relaxed than she'd ever been since she could remember. Reluctant to wake her, Reid locked her in the car, leaving a note explaining where he was and instructions to stay in the car. He requested that an officer keep a special eye on the vehicle, and as far as he saw, this was obeyed as he walked off to the backyard where the mass grave was.


	4. Helpful Horrors

Again, I only own the words and Haley.

* * *

The grave was large and enveloped an entire backyard. Reid looked into it, and Morgan stepped up behind him. Reid, seeing the shadow of Morgan, tensed, as if the tongue-lashing he expected could convert somehow into a real lashing.

"No victim type", Morgan observed. "White, Black, Latino, Asian. All here. Male and female."

Thankfully, Reid reflected momentarily, his expectations had gone unmet. "But look at the age", he replied, kneeling down. "I bet you they were all below eighteen."

"So he takes any of them below eighteen and-"

Reid cut him off, jumping up and turning around to face Morgan, somewhat sickened by his epiphany. "FOSTER KIDS, Morgan! He's adopting and killing foster kids! Have Garcia get a list of missing foster kids in the state of Virginia and cross-check it against the ones adopted to the people who lived last at this address. That's our Un-Sub." Reid began to walk away, suddenly apperaring frazzled and in a massive hurry.

"Where you going, kid?" Morgan asked, taking to follow at Reid's heels in a mixture of interest and concern.

"I just have to make sure Haley's okay", Reid said, "I know it's irrational." He walked faster, practically running, finally coming to the car to discover a fully awake Haley who was trying not to look at the house.

"_WHYDIDYOUTAKEMEHERE!"_ she screamed at him when he opened the car door, curling against the opposite door, reminding Reid of just how fragile she was.

"Is this a bad place for you?" he asked innocently. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea, honest." He looked at her, pursing his lips and biting the sides of his tongue nervously, hands clasped in front of him, eyes flicking towards her face every now and then, trying to see her response in a nervous hopefulness.

"Okay, you didn't know", she breathed heavily and with relief. "But this was one of the worst places I was at. He made me watch", she said vaguely, pressing to the opposite door again, her voice taking on a nervous twinge.

Reid leaned forward into the car, looking her in the eyes and offering a hand. She took it quickly, and held on with a viselike grip known only to be possessed by trapeze artists, looking him in the eyes intently and following his cues to come out of the car somewhat hesitantly.

When she was fully out of the car, he made his quickly-going-numb hand give hers a reassuring squeeze, much as he imagined a father would do, if his imagination could tell him what a father was like, that is.

"Here", he said, holding up a finger to catch her drifting eyes, standing somewhat awkwardly.

She looked at him, following the finger with her eyes and shifting nervously, but extending her trust to appease him.

"Now, I know this is painful and probably makes you nervous", Reid began, "but what did he make you watch?" He tried to ask it like it was a verbal quiz, hoping that she would detach and answer it with a robotic, textbook-like reply.

"He…", she trailed off, choking up. "H-h-he", she tried again, only to begin to hyperventilate and shake and sob.

"Shh-shh-shh…", Reid soothed, hugging her for a moment. "Relax. Sit down. It's okay." She hadn't been out of the system for more than a couple of hours, and Reid couldn't help but feel that this was rather cruel to Haley. Truth be told, it was a mixed blessing-she had to spend her first few hours out of the system with reminders of its cruelty, but then again, she could finish her final business with the thing all at once and be done with it.

She took the driver's seat, her feet resting on the pavement so she was still facing the dreaded house. Morgan, unfamiliar with what was happening but acutely aware of Reid's delicately-balanced psychological dance with this girl, stepped back so as to be as nonthreatening as possible.

"Can you write it?" Reid asked, reaching into his sweater pocket and proffering a pen and field notebook, opened to a blank page.

She nodded, taking the pen and notebook, writing in a sobbing fury, and handing it back with several filled, tear-stained pages a few minutes later.

Reid read the hasty, sloppy, next-to-illegible text in ten seconds, but halfway into the first second, his expression became one of shocked horror.

_He made me watch them die. Sometimes he raped them. Sometimes he beat them or whipped them, but mostly he just shot them or strangled them. He only took a knife to eleven of them, to my knowledge. He tried to get me to kill someone once. I almost died when I couldn't bring myself to do it. I have scars from the whip he took to me to prove it. Then he moved. Many times. He only stayed four months in a place, tops. Us survivors were terrified. He killed more and more. He made us bury them in the backyard. We were always scared that we would be next. I can show you the other houses I know of if you want. My friends deserve a real grave, at least. Especially the ones that stood in between him and me when I would have been next. I don't know his name, but I think I could ID him in a lineup._

Shocked, and with his expression showing it, Reid handed off the pen and notebook to Morgan and took Haley, holding her tight and spreading one hand over her back and another over the back of her head, exhibiting his unconscious protective instinct. It was no matter that he was on his knees on rough, dusty pavement. It didn't matter that in the bright white colonial-style home, a mass murder investigation was going on. What mattered was that he was going to keep Haley's head nested in his shoulder so she didn't have to relive it any more than she already had.

Unfortunately, Hotch didn't have the same idea. He knew that if Jack had been through something like this, he would do the same, but he also hoped that someone would make Jack sign off on his words so the witness statement would be counted in as evidence.

"Excuse me." He tapped at the two of them, Reid wide-eyed but looking into the cab of the car, and Haley buried into his shoulder like she was digging for plutonium.

Haley gasped and tore out of Reid's grip, and Reid let her go voluntarily.

"Um, Haley, meet my coworker, SSA Hotchner", Reid introduced somewhat awkwardly.

Haley nodded, looking at Reid. "Do you trust him?"

"With my life, Haley", Reid said. "He even saved my life a few times, so yes, you can trust him too."

She nodded, content with the explanation, looking at Hotchner. His face was drawn and strained, as if the grave was more horrible than anything else he'd worked on. He was a driven but tired-looking man, and between the night shadows and the police lights, he looked like he fit right into the scene behind him, the crime-scene-taped colonial with the matching sycamores and vast, well-kept lawn out front, the white-picket fence in front of that, and the small house contradicting its quaint appearance with the contents of its own backyard. Officers, investigators, and coroners were rushing to and fro as if this were the most normal thing in the world, except that it wasn't, but all in the name of taking the things that had happened here from one hidden place to another after a brief period of exposure.

"Um…if you could just sign what you wrote, Haley", Hotchner interrupted her thoughts, handing her Reid's field notebook and pen.

"Of course." She attached her signature to the end of her writing, handing the notebook to Hotchner and returning the pen to Reid, her vision being interrupted rudely by police lights demanding her constant attention.

"Why don't you get her home and settled in?" Hotchner suggested to Reid.

"Alright, I'll be right back", Reid replied.

"No, you'll take the rest of the night off too. That's an order."

"Okay. I'll be in the BAU to get my own car and we'll be headed home for the night."

"Take the surveillance car", Hotchner said. "Show up here tomorrow. Something tells me it'll be a long night with a lot of bodies, maybe even going into the day."

"It'll go into the day", Haley said, again becoming a detached, factual speaker. "Twenty-three in my stay here, and he was here for a year before I showed up. Be careful. You're going to wish you could unsee things by the end of it", she cautioned, "and tell the rest of your team that too."

"Okay, I will", Hotchner promised, turning to Reid. "Get home. Get her home. Don't show up here until one o'clock tomorrow afternoon. If you show up a minute earlier, you're on administrative leave for a month."

"Thank you", Reid said, stepping into the car after Haley returned to the passenger seat.

"Rest, Reid", Hotchner said. "I mean it. It's almost four now. No working until you show up for work tomorrow. Sleep."

"Okay." Reid would have normally been mildly amused by Hotchner's almost parental commentary on his sleeping habits, but he was too tired and preoccupied to care.

"Get home now; I've got work to do", Hotchner said, retreating.

Reid said nothing, but drove off, slurping the last of his coffeed sugar on the forty-five minute drive home, dark circles already under his eyes.


	5. Welcome Home, Haley Reid

Thanks all for the incredibly large readership! It's really encouraging to see people from 26 different countries viewing my work!

I own only the words and Haley.

Something about this part, also. I don't see why everyone thinks that Reid is this destitute genius the lives in an apartment. He does traveling lectures at universities. You can make between 20 and 80 grand a lecture if you're good, and especially if you're in demand like Reid is. Even the other characters have decent suburban homes in the show, even when they're the only income provider. Do the math, and Reid is a multimillionaire. Also, his mother's treatment would be the taxpayer's burden to bear, not his, and even if it was (i.e. private facility), it would eat up only a small amount of his yearly income. This all goes to show...writers, do your research.

* * *

"Come on, Haley", Reid said to the half-asleep girl, shaking her shoulder gently. "It's almost five. You should come inside and bed down for the night."

Haley shook her hair into place and unbuckled her seatbelt, gathering her few possessions out of the backseat tiredly before exiting the vehicle, Reid opening the door for her.

"Is this your house?" she asked. "Maybe I should pursue a government job", she mused aloud, sounding like her mind had crossed into a different plane of existence, her face set in the otherworldly expression that comes when Sleep, Death's little brother, has knocked for too long and is simply going to kick down the door in his impatience.

"No, no, don't do that unless you have a passion for it", Reid cautioned. "I make at least fifteen times my BAU salary by traveling cross-country to give lectures. I make $100,000 a month minimally by giving anywhere between two and five lectures. I charge more if I'm going to a more prestigious college because they can afford the extra expense if they really want me there, and I lecture for a reduced rate at Cal Tech because of the full-ride scholarship they gave me."

"Oh", Haley said, looking at the house. It was huge by her standards, nestled in a quiet neighborhood. The property itself seemed to encompass anywhere between five and ten acres of slight hills and large flat expanses, from what could be communicated in the mysterious, vague language of Night. The front, seeming to be about half an acre, consisted of neat bushes, a few grand-looking trees, and well-trimmed grass. The back yard was far less maintained, seeming to grow more wildly, with unkempt grass and wild branches here and there. Random ivory grew up the most immediate wild tree. "You pay for the front yard to be landscaped", she observed.

"Association", he muttered annoyedly. "You would think it's no big deal, because it's all horse property and this is a big equestrian neighborhood", he ranted, "but at least they don't regulate back yards, so I can leave that wild."

"Do you not like paying landscapers?" she asked.

"No, I just prefer the look of wilderness. That's why I got this place. When I do come home, I want to be able to relax. Now come on, quit the talk. You need your rest." He put an arm around her shoulders and led her into the house, a large, pale blue, single-floor residence, basement excepted. It was massive for one person, and still oversized for two, coming in at about 2,000 square feet on the ground level alone, not counting the finished basement. This prompted a tour of the residence.

The entry was intricately set with natural stone tile of different colors, with a granite centerpiece. Rough-cut slate began after this elaborate octagon and continued into the main living area and the adjoining kitchen, which featured an island and spacious counters with all the gourmet cooking and baking amenities, cabinets being made out of solid cherry wood and pantry having a matching door, all hinges and fittings made of solid brass. A black-gold granite countertop, rough-cut around the edges, graced anywhere a countertop needed to be. It came off to the right of the living room, which featured a small HD LCD television, a massive Persian rug, a few comfy-looking suede recliners, and an overstuffed mahogany-wood-and-black-leather couch that was capable of seating five. In front of it was a large coffee table, made out of solid cherry wood, as were the end-tables next to the recliners. Were one to go straight ahead from the entrance, a heavy wooden door leading outside could be reached. The informal dining room, which came off the kitchen to the left so it could also be accessed via the living room, had been tiled also with the dark grey slate, and held a small four-person seating arrangement, also made out of cherry wood, with the chairs having padded backs and seats, these being covered with rustic-looking stressed black leather. Through an odd-shaped hallway stemming off this, one could reach two similarly-themed half-bathrooms, and a large formal dining expanse that held an ornate hand-carved California Redwood table with black granite and silvery insets, luxurious mid-brown carpet, and a golden-colored brass chandelier. This was one of the few places that held pictures on the wall, and even these were impersonal, merely portraits of the world's most memorable intellectuals. A marble bust stood in a corner, but otherwise, it was just another room.

The walls throughout the home were bright white, rather complimenting it as opposed to contrasting it discordantly, interrupted frequently by an ornate cherry-wood or mahogany bookshelf. Off to the left of the living area was a wide and long hallway, running parallel to the wall it came off of. At the front was a full bathroom, and next to it was a guest room that had been converted into a study. The area was tousled, but still managed to hold a semblance of academia and order. The furniture in here was not ornate; it was rather simple, and pine bookshelves were clearly the dominant feature in the room. A single picture of Reid's mother was hung in front of the desk, where it would be at eye level. Also, there was a chair that he could curl up in, placed in a corner. A small, mismatching table was next to it, also holding a small framed picture of his mother, nested atop a Bible.

"You believe too?" Haley asked Reid, gesturing to the Bible on the table when she saw it.

"It makes perfect logical sense in my mind, so of course I believe." He, unlike Haley, was more mature in the faith. It gave him something good to cling to when he saw all the evil committed by people. He clung to his beliefs and went to church when his job permitted it, though he was typically uncomfortable talking about it, as he didn't know all the answers yet. He was accustomed to knowing all the answers before he opened his mouth. "Come along, now." He continued showing her the house.

There was another bedroom, and it was apparently the guest bedroom. It held a bed, drawers, a nightstand, and a desk. The closet was of the small type with the mirror doors that slid on tracks.

"Did you do all this decorating and such yourself?" Haley couldn't help but wonder. It seemed unlike him, but then again, horses at first seemed unlike her.

"Um, no", Reid said. "I hired a custom builder, told them I wanted a roomy and rustic retreat that still had the amenities, gave him a four million dollar budget, and I made the mistake of giving him permission to hire interior decorators."

"Oh."

The bedroom after that, Haley learned, was to be hers. It was an extra master bedroom with a door leading right to the backyard. It had white walls, the same lush brown carpet that was in the formal dining area, and a mahogany desk with cherry-wood inlays surrounded by several matching bookshelves. A cushy queen-sized bed was in the middle, with a dark green comforter and white sheets, with a mottled brown throw over it. A set of mahogany drawers that were roomy enough to be a dresser were also low enough to serve as a nightstand, and on it was perched a rustic lamp. The door leading to the small walk-in closet was made of solid cherry wood with mahogany inlays, with the usual brass hinges and handle. The bathroom was slate-tiled and granite-countertoped, but similarly decorated otherwise. It held both a shower and a bath-tub, and had a privacy curtain that could be drawn across its entrance.

Reid's room, Haley learned, was similar, but he wouldn't permit her to see it or the basement yet.

"You need your rest", he told her. "Change into something comfortable and come say goodnight. I'll be in the study", he said.

She nodded and went into the bathroom area, using the toilet and changing into a sports bra, a large, comfy red hoodie, and a pair of old, tattered, but still serviceable sweatpants of unknown color on account of the many permanent stains it had accumulated. She brushed her teeth with the remainder of the toothpaste she had and got out the bag of baking soda so she didn't have to bug Reid for toothpaste tomorrow, and could still brush with something.

Her shoulder-length, silky black hair was brushed out so the strands didn't tangle worse in the night, and, all this done, she went to say goodnight.

Reid set aside the letter he'd been writing to his mom.

"Goodnight, Haley." He gave her a hug, which was returned, and followed her back to her room, at which she grew nervous.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"This is another one of those childhood things you missed, I bet. Haley, most kids have their parents tuck them into bed at night."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

Reid pulled back the blankets and patted the bed. "Lay down and rest your head on the pillow."

Haley obeyed him with considerable hesitance.

"Relax", he admonished her, "You need it. Rest. Close your eyes. Relax, relax", he repeated, shushing her when she moved too much or went to speak, rubbing over her back and sides lightly and somewhat awkwardly until she was relaxed and nested down in the bed.

She opened her eyes and watched what he did next. He left the lamp on, a comforting thing, since she had come to associate the dark with all the horrible things she'd been through. He brought the blankets up over her, nesting them about her neck and tucking them around her frame. She found this both very interesting and very relaxing, so she closed her heavy eyelids and gradually went limp while Reid spoke to her in soothing tones. He stayed in the room with her until she was asleep, and then left, finished his letter, and went to bed himself, leaving both his light and hers on.


	6. Breakfast: Sugar And Psychoactive Drugs

I guess I was tired of the serious stuff; this chapter is intended to be lighthearted and funny. Pretty short, because the next chapter will be more serious and I wanted at least one exclusively lighthearted chapter.

Again, I only lay claim to the mesh of words and Haley.

* * *

Reid woke up at ten, unable to sleep any longer, and went to check on Haley. Perhaps she would still be asleep, he mused, as she was a teenager and teens were that incredible species that was able to oscillate between nocturnal and normal as their hormones dictated.

Haley, however, had either woken unusually early or her brain hadn't got the chemical memo, so sleep would perpetually pass her by like an e-mail sent to the wrong address.

This posed the question of where she might possibly be, and as Reid approached the kitchen with a puzzled look, this problem was solved soon enough.

Haley was in the process of downing a Godiva dark chocolate bar, and had removed a container of strawberries from the refrigerator, clearly her next victim. She looked up and froze, as if caught in the middle of some horrible theft.

"Mind if I join you?" Reid asked, amused at the girl's deer-in-the-headlights stare.

"On the glucose-fest?" she asked innocently, expression returning to normal. "Your food, your choice. I'm just chowing because I always have a sweet tooth and seldom satisfy it."

"Won't have that problem here", Reid announced with a bit of odd pride, "I get a delivery of imported candies every week. I normally get 10 pounds, but since there's two brains to fuel instead of one, I'll change the order to 20."

"How do you stay so scrawny, then?" Haley blurted out tactlessly. "Your brain can't possibly use that much glucose and burn _that_ many calories, can it?"

"When you make your living off your brain, and you're always encoding and storing or in active recall of information, it burns that many calories and that much glucose. You'll learn. Between the riding you'll be doing and the brain-work I'll be putting you through, you'll stay thin, trust me", he said, opening his second chocolate, this one a Ritter Sport imported from Germany, having the German text on it as opposed to English, as if to verify its origins.

"Riding?" Haley asked excitedly, popping another Godiva truffle in her mouth as she looked at Reid.

"Garcia and I made some arrangements. It seems that there's going to be a bunch of construction people here in a few days to set up several things. Oh, and some supply companies are willing to supply you quite generously. Then there will be five horses shipped here, two of which are pregnant and one of which you know."

"Ee!" Haley squealed in excitement, tackling Reid in a hug, nearly knocking him off his feet. "Did I ever mention that I LOVE YOU?" She began to hug so tight that Reid's structurally-lacking ribcage began to feel near utter collapse.

"Hey, um, Haley, want to try coffee?" he asked, looking to distract her. "Have you ever had it?"

"Nope", she said, releasing her boa-constrictor hug and looking at her new caregiver excitedly, "but I'm willing to try."

…and so at eleven o'clock in the morning, one Dr. Spencer Reid, lacking any common sense whatsoever, gave an already-excited teen who had literally never experienced caffeine or large amounts of sugar at once three cups of over-sugared espresso.

It can be imagined what happened around that household before Reid went to work, the only thing of interest (other than Haley's caffeine-induced ventures, which will simply be left to imagination) was that Reid received a call with instructions to show up at the office as opposed to the field.

At one o'clock sharp, a frazzled Reid and a wacky-shack-worthy Haley walked (in Reid's case) / bounced (in Haley's case) into the office.

"She was absolutely timid last night, so I didn't even go near the two of you", Rossi observed when Reid sat down. "What did you do to her?" He wore a grin, clearly amused, but wondering at the cause.

"Apparently, she's never had coffee or large amounts of sugar before." Reid shot a sidelong glance at the Flubber-esque teen, pursing his lips and narrowing his eyebrows. "No need to smell the printer cartridges, Haley", he said as calmly as possible, and looked away when she shot back a crazed grin.

"And you only have espresso at your house, if I know you", Morgan cut in, smiling from the exchange between Haley and Reid. "How many cups did you let her have, Reid?"

"Three." Reid looked down, turning red and grinning a little at his own predicament.

"You of all people should know that caffeine is a psychoactive drug", Prentiss said.

"I knew that, I just wasn't thinking", Reid shot back, still grinning. No, nay-one certainly couldn't be objective about everything.

"That's a first", Rossi and Morgan replied in unison, causing the teen to burst into laughter and look at Reid, giggling like a little girl.

Reid could do nothing but smile and look up. He'd made a fool of himself.

For once.


	7. Trust Them

Thanks to everyone for all the support. It means a ton to me.

I own Haley. I own the syntax. I own nothing else.

* * *

As time passed and Haley's caffeine problem wore off, she returned from Garcia's office (where she had been sent because Garcia was the only one upbeat enough to deal with her) to curl up by Reid's desk with a book, notebook, and pen.

"Finally wore off?" Reid asked.

"Yeah", Haley replied quietly. "I was stupidly energetic. Heck, I talked to _strangers_", she observed, writing something using odd symbols in her notebook.

"Maybe that's a good thing." Reid looked at her with approval.

"It's a stupid thing", she insisted. Her face was set in an annoyed look, and she was clearly chastising herself severely in her mind.

"Considering that everyone here is FBI, they're here to protect you. You just have to develop the confidence to approach them", Reid replied whilst reading a file, sliding a lanky finger down the page before turning it and doing the same.

"I feel like I made an idiot of myself, and now I just want to curl up behind your desk where I won't be seen for a while."

"You feel like you made an idiot of yourself. It was my fault for letting you have all that espresso", he said absentmindedly, patting her shoulder for a moment. "I made an idiot of _myself_", he concluded.

"Well, the espresso's worn off at any rate. Why'd you take me with you to the office again?"

"Because you can help us with the case", Reid said, being vague on account of his distraction, the files.

"I couldn't just mark the addresses on a map", she warned him with a note of regret. "I went through so many; I don't remember many of the addresses. Plus we moved so fast…" she trailed off.

"We can take you in a car, if you remember the way", Prentiss volunteered, seemingly talking to a hallucination on account of Haley being stashed behind Reid's desk.

Haley looked up at Reid, timid again.

"What?" he asked, breaking off from the files to look her in the eyes. "It's not like she's going to hurt you. The only thing she'll squash is an insect." He meant it jokingly, but that wasn't how Haley took it.

She nodded, hanging her head for a moment in shame of her cowardice, which Reid apparently saw fit to be harder than normal on her for. Reid, having not intended to get this reaction and not wanting Haley to regress any, ruffled her hair and took a moment to get his hand under her chin and coax her head up, which proved to be a difficult task. When she finally held her head up, he ran his hand ever-so-lightly across the top of her shoulder. "Come on now, talk to Prentiss", he coaxed.

"I would remember most of the way", she said to Prentiss. "The last few turns would just have to be driving around the blocks, but I would definitely remember the house."

"Alright. Shall we be on our way, then?" Prentiss asked. "I'm done with my paperwork", she stated flatly, dropping several files on her desk and grabbing her purse.

"Something real quick first", Reid said. "Just to make sure she's comfortable being alone in a car with you."

"Your word isn't enough?" Prentiss asked.

"I think it is, but then again, I just got her back from an abusive household yesterday, and she's had even more beatings since I saw her last."

"Point", the agent conceded, sitting with her legs folded under her on the floor, looking at Haley, who refused to make eye contact.

"Haley, come forward and turn so Prentiss can reach your back, okay?"

The look Haley shot him said it louder than if she had just blasted the words from a megaphone:_ Not AGAIN with the trust exercises! Really? Please. I don't want to! I'm scared!_ Her eyes flashed intensely, and Prentiss was fully informed of Haley's attitude towards whatever was about to happen.

However, she also noticed Reid's determination, his brow narrowed, his eyes equally as intense, lower jaw tightening involuntarily in a display of dominance, as he flashed back a silent _You'll do it and you'll do it NOW. No fighting! _This seemed a little harsh, Prentiss reflected, but then it occurred to her that if Haley didn't learn to trust now, when would she learn? When could she get over it, if not under Reid's wing?

"Turn your back to her, Haley", Reid restated his instructions, his dominant expression slackening to a salesmanlike look, oddly persuasive. "Haley, you need to get past this. I don't want to push you too hard either, so just tell me if it's too much, but you know as well as I know that you've got to learn to trust again."

"I know", Haley said quietly, turning her back to someone that wasn't Reid for the first time. This simple act brought out the timid side of her, as she felt exposed and vulnerable. Her breathing quickened, but for fear of reproach she tried her hardest to conceal it, which mostly consisted of shallowing her breathing, which, unfortunately, made it especially noticeable.

"Shh-shh-shh, it's okay", Reid soothed her, putting his hand under her chin once more and lifting it to get a good look at her expression. She drew back, looking ashamed, not even looking at him.

By now, the whole team was watching, including Garcia from a surveillance camera and Hotchner perched halfway down the staircase leading from his office to the bullpen. Reid could feel the eyes and knew he had to take a different approach.

"Hey", he said softly, tapping Haley's shoulder. She looked in his general direction for a moment, abashed, like she was opening up to an expression of his disapproval simply by doing that. "Here", he said, dropping his hand under her chin again and guiding it so she faced him. This done, he pursued eye contact until she gave in, expecting reproach and unfamiliar with this newly-discovered side of Reid.

"Don't be afraid of me", he said calmly. "Maybe I'm being too hard on you. It's your first time in this building and I've already got you doing trust exercises with people you don't really know", he conceded, "and I'm sorry. But this has got to be done, if not now, soon. That said, if you're nervous about something, don't try and hide it from me, alright?" He ran his fingers under her jaw a little, imagining what a father might do to comfort his child in this situation. He knew that there was a good chance that the nerve endings would soothe when touched, so after a moment, he withdrew his hand. "No need to try and hide, Haley."

She only nodded, now looking intently at him, waiting for instructions.

"Okay", Reid began again, addressing Prentiss, "She's fairly stressed right now, so when you lay and hand on her, start with your fingertips and bring your hand down really light from there. What I want you to do is lay a hand down on her right shoulder, and Haley, you just try and relax."

Haley nodded and Prentiss did as instructed. "She's really tense; are you sure this is a good idea?" Prentiss asked Reid.

"Laying my hand down", he warned Haley, resting his hand close.

"You feel that? And that's more relaxed than she was before she knew you were putting your hand on her." Prentiss' tone was matter-of-fact and somewhat shocked.

"No need to hide, Haley", Reid soothed. "If you're too scared, quit hiding it and we'll try again later."

"I don't want to let you down", Haley said in a soft, shaky voice, barely audible. "And like you say, if I don't learn now, when?"

"You'll learn soon enough, and you're _not_ letting me down. Get that out of your head." He pulled Prentiss' hand off Haley's back, replacing it with his own. "And you're tense enough to explode."

Haley was silent, clearly irked at herself for letting Reid down.

"Relax", he whispered, rubbing lightly on her back. "Shhhhhhhhhhhhh. Don't be disappointed. You're having a hard time. That's understandable. I'll drive you when I finish up my paperwork."

"I can't believe you trust Reid to drive a car, Haley", Morgan observed. "I would trust Prentiss over him any day."

"I would normally object, but he's right", Reid conceded, hoping that this would set a positive predisposition to Prentiss, finger already sliding down the last piece of paper and signing on the line.

"It's not that I trust him to drive; it's that I trust him to not want to hurt me", Haley said quietly, so quietly that only Reid heard her, Prentiss having returned to her desk. He smiled a little at the comment.

"Prentiss, you want to drive?" he asked.

"That's fine by me", she said, picking up her purse and swiping car keys off a hook while Reid logged the keys out in a pencil-and-paper logbook. This done, he called to Haley, and the trio left the office.


	8. To Make Her Forget

I own Haley, the word-mesh, and nothing else.

Also, I'd like to say thnks for all the viewership and support. A shout-out especial to both Ren Kayashima and Cassadee Willows for actually taking the time to look over my work, and beyond that, having a real existing-being to existing-being discussion.

That's not to say I'm ungrateful to anyone else who gave feedback. You guys are awesome. It's super encouaging to see that your fan-fiction (mind you, only a FAN-fiction) has a 30 country viewership.

* * *

The car snaked along rolling backcountry roads, aided by Garcia's addresses and Haley's instructions.

"Turn here", she directed, indicating a small trail branching off to nowhere in particular.

"Here? Are you sure?" Reid asked.

"The police were all over his butt in this town", she said with strained nonchalance, trying to keep the emotion at bay. "He made us take them out here."

They turned down the rocky, overgrown path, and Haley ordered a stop after the car had made it about 300 feet onto the trail.

"Grave is here", Haley said. "It's the last one I know of. Don't drive over them. Please." She was beginning to choke up and cry.

Prentiss put a location mark on the spot with the GPS system while Reid, in the backseat next to Haley, soothed her gently, holding her head to his shoulder, doing all the things he wished his father would have been around to do when he was a little boy. His mom and dad had fought and split up, leaving him with his mother's talks about strength and his pillows to comfort him. He'd wished he hadn't had to imagine his father's strong, protective arms around him when he buried his head and cried himself to sleep at night. He wanted them to be real, wanted his mom to tell him it was okay to cry. He'd had none of that.

He saw that in Haley. She didn't want to cry, was scared to speak up, and tried to put on an "everything's alright" façade with people around. Deep down in there somewhere, she had wounds, and she'd be emotionally dead if they weren't tended soon.

"It's okay, Haley. It's okay to cry", he whispered to her as the car drove away, pulling her head toward his shoulder and wrapping his arms around her, like he wished his father would've done. "Shh. It's alright. I'm here, and I'll stay here as long as you need me."

Haley nodded amidst her tears. She finally had a shoulder to cry on. Better yet, there was an extra shoulder should that one fail her, a good, moral head on those shoulders, two arms wrapped tightly around her, a broad torso that she was sure he'd put in the way of any lash that came her way, and two long, lanky legs that could lead her away from danger in a half a second or less. She was glad that Reid had offered that shoulder, and the rest of him, sacrificing his privacy to care for her.

Slowly, the crying came to an end as the car reached pavement.

"You look pretty bad", Reid observed when she withdrew from him.

"I've been in worse messes. I'll be fine." She looked away from Reid and into the afternoon sun. "Reid?" she asked suddenly.

"Yes?" He looked at her, and for once, Haley initiated eye contact before pulling him into a tight hug.

"Thank you." Her eyes conveyed her sincerity, and Reid was struck by the fact that she'd initiated eye contact. That was a major step for her.

"You're welcome." Reid was baffled as to what for, but didn't want to push any buttons she might have. "You know, the horses are being delivered tonight", he added, changing the topic.

"I can't wait to hop up on that warmblood", she remarked. "Moved like a dream. A mess of a bounce to trot, but get him at a good canter...and don't get me started on his flying changes", she remarked, making absolutely no sense whatsoever to Reid or Prentiss.

"You'll have to show me everything he can do", Reid said.

"Past FEI. Into High School movements. He'll need a capriole refresher on the surcingle and longs, but he'll be fine after that."

Reid still had no idea what the heck was being said, but he wasn't about to let on. Prentiss knew better, and knew that Reid's silence was an admission of not knowing, but Haley was used to his silence from long therapy sessions that had sometimes lasted up to ten hours.

To Haley, the topic of that particular horse was settled, everyone knowing _exactly_ what she meant, because it all made such perfect sense! "You said others would be delivered?"

"A warmblood mare of the same type", he said, "Garcia said she was the same type, anyway."

"Danish warmblood?"

"Yes, that, and she's as proven, or so I heard", Reid confirmed. "and a mare-stallion pair of Hanoverians, both proven jumpers."

"How proven?" she asked. She was interested now.

"Six foot oxers, they said." At least he was able to speak that bit of horse lingo, throwing it out there and hoping that the sellers hadn't made a total idiot out of him in front of Haley.

Her eyes widened. "Dang!" she exclaimed, "I'll need a confidence boost to ride those!"

"You'd better ride them, or you'll fall off from an increased height", Reid said, taking her to him and tickling her stomach and sides, another bit of childhood she'd missed, again hoping he'd said nothing stupid.

Haley laughed for a bit, forgetting all about her earlier crying and fighting Reid off with surprising strength, but then taking his cue and falling back against him in total trust, submitting to the tickling till she'd laughed herself teary-eyed again.

Reid stopped and dried her eyes, picking up the conversation where he'd left off. "The two mares are pregnant, and the last one is a stallion. Warmblood, but I can't pronounce the name."

"Does it start with a T?" Haley asked.

"Yeah, that T word…"

"Trakehner." She looked at him with an assured nod. "Trakehner stallion. That should be fun." Her mouth was practically watering from a mere description of the equine deliciousness as she looked up at Reid, still lying on her back across his lap.

"Why don't you sit up?" Reid suggested. "It makes for a safer and more legal trip."

Haley complied, and Reid was surprised that in her world full of memories, it only took a few choice words to make her forget.


	9. Horselike

Gosh, I love you guys. Seeing a 33-country viewership is highly encouraging, and the reviews are very much welcomed. Don't be afraid to be brutally honest with me. You're all loved. Very much.

I decided to approach this chapter a little differently. You'll see what I mean. I doubt I'll handle very many chapters like this one, but it seemed to fit best.

I don't own anything except Haley and the rapidly-growing word-mass.

* * *

Slowly, and with a careful way about her, Prentiss neatly parked the car in the parking complex adjoining the BAU building.

Reid, who had nested Haley between his left arm and the left side of his body, unbuckled the seatbelt, taking care also to remind Haley that she had to unbuckle her lap belt before exiting. Haley left at his heels, and Prentiss was already a good ten paces ahead of the car at this point.

Haley reverted to her typical demeanor, that is, quiet, obedient, and nervous. She matched Reid's long stride exactly, no easy feat, but one accomplished by years of observing horses. She curled a leg up when it was well under her, swinging her body forward and unfurling the leg in stages, landing on her toes to get maximum extension of her stride as she picked up the other leg. When a horse did this, it looked graceful; Haley appeared to be lurch-swaying rhythmically on account of being a biped.

This did not escape Reid's observation of their shadows, and he shortened his stride to match her normal stride, to see what she would do.

Horse-like, she collected her stride accordingly, before slipping back down into her usual gait.

Something occurred to Reid whilst walking across the parking garage.

Haley really _was_ horse-like. A horse in its natural state wouldn't let you approach it at first. Its fear would be overwhelming, and it would shy from everyday things. The best way you could get a horse used to you was to hang around and let them see you while they did their own thing in an environment where they felt like they had some degree of control.

Then you had to start giving them apples, letting them learn that human hands bring good things. Eventually, they would welcome your presence, maybe even approach you or let you approach them. After that, it was time to touch them on the shoulder-softly, quietly, and stroking gently once they were somewhat comfortable.

In time, they would become comfortable with human contact, and then the halter, saddle, and bridle were to be introduced in much the same way as people had to introduce themselves-sometimes even down to the treats and petting.

They'd be nervous when you first asked them to do anything out of their comfort zone, such as responding to the bit or being asked to do basic ground-work. You had to constantly soothe them, quite possibly abandoning your plan in favor of tasks that they were more comfortable with. Slowly, though, and with time, patience, and love, you could teach them the ultimate trust: to ride. It was beyond a mere thing. The horse could not see you, but only feel you. Love, fear, respect, or a mix of the three would determine what they would do for you, and beyond that, they might someday trust you to teach them something new while on their back, such as crossing water, approaching mailboxes, or jumping obstacles.

If they were timid enough, or previously abused, you just might be the only one they trust.

Indeed, Haley was horse-like. She, too, had been scared. She'd had to learn to associate Reid with good things, first having to be given a small piece of chocolate-apparently something she hadn't had much of in her diet-by Reid. Learning this, she eventually approached him, even letting him touch her on the shoulder. With time, she'd willingly submitted to rubbing on her back, neck, and sides. Her arms, which, for some reason, she was particularly timid about, eventually became another contact point she'd offered before the nonthreatening doctor.

Physical trust established, the talking began. The first time Reid spoke, Haley nearly flew across the room in fright. It was her eighth session with him, and he was silent as soon as he saw her jump, but only for a moment. He'd been quick to verbally soothe her, coming off the couch he'd curled up in for the first time in eight sessions and kneeling beside her before he spoke. He remembered the words, even: _"It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. I'll leave you alone now if you're too scared, just tell me."_ His eidetic memory kept the image of her brow creasing in fearful contemplation, before she told him to continue, but only if he wasn't going to hurt her. It had come out as a threatening, deep growl that caused him to involuntarily back up a few inches before rubbing down her back and mumbling quietly just to get her used to the sound of his voice.

With time and kind treatment, she'd eventually relaxed toward him, even trusting him with select parts of her past that she'd never told anyone. She'd still left out a lot and refrained from talking about most of her life, but he began to know what a sad case she was, how beaten and broken she was, how much help she really needed. He'd recommended that she be sent to full-time, non-volunteer therapy, and they responded by sending her out into the world yet again.

Now, a slight bit of her old trust was gone, but it was growing into something newer, stronger, better, and more willing for the right reasons: respect, love, and trust.

Just like a horse.

Somehow he'd ended up filling in all his paperwork by the time this thought-process completed itself. He was in the middle of a conversation with Morgan, probably equally as spacey considering the looks of various kinds that Prentiss and Rossi were giving the two of them, and Haley was nested close by, curled up on the floor with a book, oblivious to the outside world.

"Welcome to reality", Rossi quipped with a serious sort of humor.

Reid merely nodded, glanced at the 4 o'clock light beyond the window, and looked back at Rossi.

"Go home, Reid. The case is over, and if Garcia didn't mislead me, I think there's a rush on a particular delivery that _someone_ will want to see." He raised an eyebrow, looking pointedly at Haley and nodding in her general direction.

"Right." Reid pursed his lips in his trademark awkward smile-and-nod, grabbed his messenger bag, and tapped Haley three times between the shoulder-blades.

Haley looked up at Reid. "Hmm?" Her face showed a slight tone of impatience, but was otherwise naïve, trusting, blank as she again made eye contact with him.

"You need to get home." He took her hand and helped her up. "There's something coming in today, remember?" His face was proud, fatherly, almost. He held himself in a new way-appearing confident and self-assured.

None of this escaped the notice of the team, who'd all been contacted by Garcia to wait two hours and then leave for Reid's, if only to surprise him and bring dinner. It startled the team a little that he had a home address that came up on Google Earth as a large property with wilderness as the backyard. Some of it had been tamed by the construction of the track, cross-country courses, paddocks, a barn, and various arenas and trails, but most of it remained intact, including the wild ivy crawling up the grandiose tree visible from the front yard. Google Earth, however, had not provided them with these details. Garcia had.

As Reid left, Haley practically shoving him out the door at a full-on sprint like a little kid headed to Disneyland, the whole team smiled with anticipation of what would happen next.


	10. The Grand Delivery

Thank you, everyone. I mean it. 35 countries. That's really, really encouraging. Then the reviews on top of that. It's been an awesome ride, and I think I'll be wrapping up _this_ particualr fanfic soon (as in two or three chapters from now), but I'll be sure to write at least one sequel with Reid and Haley in it.

Again, I also approached this chapter a smidge differently.

I don't own anything but Haley (OC) and the word-mass.

* * *

Reid's car snaked up the gravel driveway just as the horses were being unloaded from the various trailers they had come in, and Haley about blew his ear off.

"THERE THEY ARE! THERE THEY ARE!" she shrieked, making Reid's already-bad driving worse by unbuckling her seat belt and attack-hugging him from the other side of the console, face shining with unbridled elation.

Reid, however, didn't mind. He came right up next to the trailers and three poor, overloaded UPS drivers and let Haley exit the vehicle while it was still in motion at the speed of 2 MPH.

He eventually got his long, lanky body out of the car and saw Haley looking eagerly into each of the trailers, spending special time next to the horse she was familiar with. Reid took a moment to fish around in the backseat to find the halter rope, and approached her with hands behind his back.

"What'cha got there?" Haley asked, slipping into an almost-playful demeanor, something that Reid hadn't known she was capable of. She began to dodge from side to side, trying to see what Reid held behind his back. Reid had to turn and turn simply to keep her from seeing the lead rope.

"Close your eyes and hold out your hands so you can find out." Reid grinned at her, eyes shining a little and proud to have provided for her. He'd done a better job than anyone else so far in her life. It was an addicting feel of power, of superiority. He'd entered a competition that he didn't know was a competition, and he'd won. No one had made this young girl smile how she smiled now; no one had done half as much as he'd done for her, and he was only getting started.

Haley closed her eyes and offered her hands palms-up quite eagerly. When Reid put the lead rope in her hands, she opened her eyes.

"You do the honors." He motioned to the trailer with the young black Danish warmblood stallion inside.

This was all the prompting she needed. In all of about thirty seconds, the trailer ramp was down and a large black horse was quietly grazing off the rich pasture provided by Reid's front lawn as Haley held his lead rope, smiling a massive smile.

"Let's get him in the warm barn", Reid suggested.

"Good idea." Reluctantly, the massive creature lifted its head from the fine forage and followed Haley with a simple call of "Follow, Vice! Follow!"

"Vice?" Reid asked as Haley returned, skipping with lead rope in hand. He was more than a little perplexed.

"The Danish mare is white, and his old name was Vice. It was meant as an insult, but since his future breeding-partner is white, I think Vice and Virtue would be a good way to group the two. Plus sometimes, the name 'Vice' fits him quite well!" Haley said quickly as she walked off toward the all-white horse's trailer.

"Virrrtuue!" She let the name roll off her tongue as she unloaded this horse as well, repeating the name. Then, holding the lead rope with a lot of slack, she ordered "Follow, Virtue, follow!" before walking off, horse in tow, getting the hang of this whole "follow" deal.

The men that had done the deliveries unloaded the other horses, with the exception of the overwhelmed UPS men, who were busy carrying boxes into the barn. The jumper pair boasted a cherry-bay stallion and a chocolate-brown mare, and the Trakehner was a stunning dapple gray with black points on his legs and face. A gorgeous, full, long black mane, forelock, and tail added a good accent to the look, and it was topped off with two crystal-blue eyes. This horse had a unique presence, and everyone, even the UPS drivers, seemed to know it.

Haley approached the men, taking the lead ropes of the two Hanoverians next, leading them to their stalls.

"Last, but definitely not least", she mumbled, approaching the amazing-looking horse. He turned his head into her, clearly friendly, as she led him to his new residence, loose halter rope swaying in a soft Virginia breeze.

The trailers and their drivers cleared out of the gravel driveway long before the UPS drivers were done unpacking, but none of that mattered to Reid or Haley. Haley was content in the barn, putting shavings in the stalls and unpacking the equipment, and Reid was content to see her content. He eventually left to fix a meal for her, considering that she'd probably ride till midnight and would need all the strength she could get in order to do so. It was simple-only macaroni and cheese, but it would be something that she could warm up later, too, if necessary.

He brought a bowl out to her in the pristine barn and had a bowl for himself as well. They ate together in silence, both simply basking in what had happened. Haley kept looking at all the horses and Reid kept looking at Haley looking at the horses. He was proud of himself, not an emotion he'd otherwise experienced unless he'd gotten another Ph.D. This was new to him. He felt like he'd achieved more than he'd ever achieved before. He'd provided for another human being, one that was broken, and gave her a chance when the system wouldn't. He took a moment to feel the rush of pride, looking up at the horses from where they sat in the middle of the brick-floored barn aisle. Certainly this was better than a lot of the things he'd done.

"You've got to ride", Haley said to him as she finished her food.

"Me?" Reid had been done for a few minutes. "Your horses!" he said, a little nervously.

"Can't act like that. They know if you're scared", Haley said. "Come on! You've got to have a test ride! _Pleeeease?_" Haley's face begged along with her voice as she let her head fall onto Reid's arm, leaning on him just a little. "_Pleeeeease?_" She smiled a little, making her sapphire eyes beg convincingly.

"Sure." Reid couldn't believe what he'd just said. He'd just agreed to hop up on an animal that was his height _at its shoulder_, and not even because of a logical argument.

_What's gotten into me?_ he wondered.

"Yay", Haley said softly, nesting her arms around his torso in an awkward sideways hug.

"But you have to have all the horses taken care of and have all the tack unpacked before I hop on." He hoped that the condition would give him adequate time to find a workaround to his prior agreement as he sneezed from a breath full of barn dust.

"Alright. I'd better get to work then." Haley's face was still set in a look of otherworldly happiness as she looked up at the massive creatures.

"Bowl", Reid prompted as Haley rose. She automatically handed the bowl to him as she began to throw herself into the work of unpacking the boxes.


	11. Sharp Contrast

Thank you everyone for the patience and support. I know it's been a long time since I last updated; please forgive me, as I've been incredibly busy.

I own Haley and the words, but nothing else.

* * *

Just as the boxes were unpacked and two horses stood at the ready, fully saddled and bridled, with all four legs wrapped in extra-thick, brand-new white leg wraps, and manes and tails brushed out, several cars pulled up the long gravel drive of the Reid residence and parked right up alongside the house. Several people exited, this large party being the entire team, each driving their personal vehicles. Prentiss carried a ham, Hotch had corn and green beans, Morgan held rolls and a prepackaged fruit platter. Garcia trailed a bit behind, mostly on account of a series of desserts, among them being a delicious-looking strawberry-topped chocolate cake. The others carried various drinks.

At that very moment, as if on cue, Reid exited out the back door, clearly a bit nervous. He wore his usual attire and eyed the horses uneasily. Concealed beneath his pants was a very-necessary cup, but even that bit of reassurance didn't help him approach the horses with any semblance of courage.

Haley motioned to the people that she saw from the other side of the small front paddock. "Your coworkers." Her tone was dismissive and casual.

"My _what_?" Reid asked. He seemed put off a good deal more by this.

"Is this not normal?"Haley herself was put off a bit as Reid rushed into the house under the pretense of getting the door. _Well, this is interesting_, she thought, _and he's not going to get out of riding just because a few coworkers, to be sure!_ As her mind worked away at a masterful plan, Haley smiled larger and larger until a Cheshire-cat grin was plain upon her face, eyes awash in the pleasure that would come from executing her plan. She felt, for a moment, like an evil genius.

"Ha-a-ley!" Reid called from the back door.

"Yes?" Her tone was a good deal softer, and she concealed her former expression, or, rather, made up for it with a doe-eyed glance in the general direction of the back door.

"Can you put the horses away with the saddle still on?" Reid asked this in all seriousness.

Haley giggled a little. "No way, never, I couldn't do that", she said, looking at Reid as if he were the most peculiar creature that ever did exist. Perhaps he was, though there is also the possibility that one more strange may yet come to exist.

"So I suppose I have to ride." Trepidation came to Reid's face as he approached Haley and the horses.

"You're on Vice", Haley said casually. "I know his bad habits and the worst he does is try and take advantage of the rider. Just be assertive." She handed him a helmet. "You'll need this."

Reid's eyes flew wide at this, but it was too late. Everyone had followed him out and was now watching. Everyone was mildly amused as Reid fastened his helmet, struggled to get a foot in the stirrup, and then barely managed to pull himself into a sitting position on an animal that Haley, a good deal smaller, was easily managing to bring herself astride. To Reid's terror, he noted that there was no horn on the saddle to cling to, and neither was there one on Haley's saddle. He would have to _balance_.

Reid now settled on a large black horse, and Haley set on the gorgeous gray, she turned her attention to Reid.

"Leave your reins loose, but keep them even and use two hands." She sat with perfect posture and evenly held her reins. Reid studied her posture and her hands, trying in vain to imitate her.

This attempt did not escape her notice. "Just feel it out." She looked at him with relaxed confidence. "Now squeeze a little with your legs-just a little-and ask for a walk." With this, she moved her horse into an easy, graceful free walk, with the hind coming under and the front coming out, so that the horse seemed to flow.

Reid proceeded far less gracefully. The horse started, was pulled back by an overly-fearful Reid yanking the reins, and moved forward at a choppy walk with his head set nearly to his chest.

"No, no, not like that", Haley chastised. "Don't slump over; it looks terrible. Besides, don't jerk his poor mouth. Hold your reins _loose_, and let the horse go at the pace he naturally goes."

Usually not one to be left to the forces of nature, and with colleagues looking on, Reid had trouble loosening the reins. Eventually, however, he managed to do so. He also managed to sit up straight, his lanky frame and tight-drawn muscles giving him an awkward air, and the horse's movements throwing him about besides. It was all quite hilarious, if only he'd taken the time to see the hilarity of the thing; Hotch and Morgan were exchanging humored glances already.

"Now take up your reins-_quiet hands,_ now-and wiggle them back and forth _very_ softly. Alternate the reins so he brings his head in, and ask for a nice, slow trot. Use your seat to help bring him in, too, don't use only your reins; that bugs any horse." Haley took up her reins and had her horse in a ceremonious-looking trot in half an instant.

Reid had no such luck. His horse bolted after Haley's horse, and Reid clung to the mane for dear life. Taking the unintended cue, the jet-black steed moved faster and faster, eventually going into full-out gallop around the arena. Reid tried to imitate jockeys and their usual standing-up in the stirrups. However, a sudden turn the other way caused by Reid's displacement of weight in the error of standing up one side at a time threw him from the horse. He fell in the arena sand, curled up and more than a little shook up.

Haley lengthened her horse's stride and seemed to glide effortlessly over to him, stopping and dismounting in one deceptively-smooth movement. She walked over to Reid and the horse that now stood next to him, as if seeing to him and feeling sorry for casting him from its back with such haste.

"You alright?" she asked. She was somewhat amused at his fall, and something inside her cringed at the utter lack of competence. She brushed that part off, and made her priority attending to the possibly-injured Reid.

"Y-yeah. I think I'm fine." He uncurled and got up, slowly and shakily, as Haley brushed the sand off his back and sides.

"Nothing's broken or sprained, then. Get back up on that horse." Haley was calm, even holding Vice so Reid could mount.

"I don't think so. I've had enough." Reid's tone was fearful and tense, so Haley didn't push him to stay as he walked across the arena and went into the barn to put his helmet back.


	12. Of Horses, Ham, and Vegetarianism

Again, thanks all for the support. Shout-outs especially to Cassadee Willows and Ren Kayashima, for helping me know where I went right and wrong. You're both very loved.

I own only the word-mass and Haley (the OC Haley, just to clarify that...)

Please be honest in reviews. If something sucked, tell me! R&Rs very much appreciated! Thanks tons!

Habaeus diem.

* * *

As Reid entered the barn, Morgan broke into a massive laugh, along with Hotch. Prentiss looked reproachfully at the two, who continued to guffaw, while Seaver stared straight ahead at Haley, who had already tied the gray and was hopping up on Vice. Rossi and Garcia both let out a long-held-back chuckle in unison, and eventually the laughter died away just as Reid came back out.

"Alright, Haley", Reid called from a good distance away. "Show us what you've got." He was content to walk up behind the team and watch from that distance-in short, he wanted a barrier between him and the horse.

Haley took this order silently, instead asking the horse to speak for her. She trotted airily over to the far corner of the arena, turning the trot's one-two tempo into a slow, prancing cadence around the bend to the long side of the rectangular arena. Balance was evident; the reins held a slack barely visible, and Haley was exerting herself with almost no visible signs as she brought the horse to trot in place halfway down the long side. The strides had about a second between them, and it was astonishing to watch.

The horse turned, still in this soft, slow rhythm, to face the team, trotted in place for a few strides more, and lifted its front end, front legs folded under, but slowly being brought upward. Once the forelegs had reached their most upward position that they could with the knees still halfway bent, the horse launched into the air, kicking its hind legs out and the top of the jump, and landing into an energetic trot, legs unfurling gorgeously, seeming to flow much like the mane was flowing, except that the legs flowed forward and the mane flowed behind. The horse was still facing the team; its legs simply crossed over, with its nose in the direction of the movement, continuing out of the arena. Tail set high, with the head in, the horse stopped perfectly square, coming literally toe-to-toe with Morgan.

"Go get the horses put away, come in and wash up for dinner", Reid ordered.

Haley backed up Vice, made him bow, bowed herself, dismounted while Vice was still bowing, and led him away with a single hand motion.

"She didn't say a word the whole time", Morgan observed casually as soon as Haley was in the barn.

Reid turned away and began to lead the way back into the house. "She's nervous about people yet. She's better when it's just me." He felt bad about taking away Haley's confidence by making her interact with strangers without a horse to perch on, but she had to learn one day, and preferably one day soon. His face was set in a pensive expression, glancing about at the semi-wilderness, trying to let its natural beauty soak in and soothe his mind. However, he had no such luck.

"She's scared, Morgan", Prentiss said with more than a hint of maternal intonation. "She has to be able to trust someone to _touch_ her before she can really talk to them, and she couldn't even let me touch her without freaking out. I think that says a lot right there."

"Hence, all the trust exercises I have her doing", Reid said. "They're odd, but if she won't let you stroke down her back at least, you're doing her more harm than help by trying to make any progress beyond that."

"So you treat her like an abused dog?" Morgan asked, more than a little irritated about this kind of talk, his expression showing it as he entered the house after Reid through the back door.

"I wouldn't if she would be willing to step past it, but she's been debased by sadistic Type As and she's absolutely terrified of anything, even physical contact." Reid looked guilty, but an encouraging look from Prentiss lessened the guilt somewhat.

Morgan nodded, the severity of his disapproving expression lessening. This made some more sense to him, but he silently resolved to treat her like a normal human being when the opportunity presented itself.

Everyone fell into a quick flurry after this, as they'd reached the kitchen and were carrying the food to the table down the extended hallway. Prentiss stubbornly refused to be helped with the massive ham, while Garcia was smart enough to do so with her desserts, delegating which desserts Seaver and Reid were to carry. Everyone else simply picked up their own things and carried them into the dining room, returned to the kitchen to wash their hands, and walked again down the long hall to the dining area.

Haley came in, looking refreshed but insecure, just as everyone was about to sit, and began to busy herself with straightening the tablecloth, setting the drinks in the glasses exactly level, making sure everything was absolutely straight and evenly spaced, and all the while refusing to make eye contact with anyone.

"Why don't you sit down?" Morgan asked her.

Haley shot him a sidelong glance full of confusion and amazement that someone would suggest that she sit _with everyone_, and _when the table wasn't just right_ to boot. She'd never eaten at a table with Reid, so her shock was understandable.

"You can sit, Haley; we're not expecting you to do anything", Reid reinforced.

At this, Haley nodded, said a quiet "thank you", and looked for a convenient seat. There were a few further-away ones, and she made for those.

"You know, there's a seat across from me", Morgan said, gesturing to an empty seat.

Haley turned on her heels, nodding meekly and taking the suggested seat. Seaver was at her right, and Hotchner at her left. It made her nervous, and she couldn't see Reid from where she sat, but she stayed put and tried not to be noticed.

Morgan, however, picked up on this, and was intent on not letting her get away with it. "So, Haley, does Reid have you in a school yet?" He leaned on the table a little, showing interest in her, but in a strictly platonic way-something Haley had known very little of over her years of existence.

"It'll be online", she replied softly, barely audible, looking down and shrinking a little in her seat. Reid saw Morgan's body language and looked on with a mixture of mild interest and moderately severe fear about what would happen if Morgan's approach failed. At this point, most of the team was watching, but only Haley was acutely aware of it, as Morgan was focused on her, and all eyes on her made her all the shier.

"What school? Do you know?" Morgan slipped into his relaxed conversationalist mode, gesturing freely and naturally and leaning back against his chair.

"Online Honor Academy, most likely." Haley was beginning to really curl up; she was clearly nervous, and unsettled all the more by everyone's looking at her, as if judging her by what she was doing.

"So are you some kind of genius? Is Reid taking on a protégé or something?" Morgan's face now showed more interest, and this scared Haley a little, but she moved her black hair back behind her ears, breathing calmly and evenly, bracing herself to launch into a wordy reply that would help her figure out this guy's exact nature.

"I don't believe intelligence is quantifiable", she began. Morgan looked on, interested-looking as usual, seemingly not offended at all by her opinion. Good. "However, my IQ is estimated at 140, and that's without schooling. I'm hoping to improve, though that seldom happens and it's hard to do. I can read at approximately one-third of the WPM rate Reid can read at, and, well, if that qualifies as 'genius'…" She trailed off, looking at Morgan with mixed hope and apprehension.

Morgan leaned back and folded his arms, content to back off at this point. She'd acknowledged her own existence and given her own opinion. Now it was time to simply prove he could be trusted. "Genius, maybe not. Your choice on that one. How are you?"

Haley dropped a good part of her guard immediately, uncurling, relaxing her muscles, fear dropping off her face, looking Morgan in the eyes for a moment. "I'm doing fine. You?"

"The same." He grabbed the ham, cutting a piece for himself nonchalantly. "Ham?" he offered.

Haley ducked her head a little. "I'll pass; thanks." It was said politely, almost delicately, and some of her shifty nervousness returned.

"Alright. You vegetarian or something?" He passed the ham off to Prentiss at his right.

"If Reid hasn't told you my background, I'm sure you can guess", she replied, somewhat uncomfortably, but letting the fear leave her. "I feared the same end they came to, and I know how bad it is, knowing that you might die any day, feeling only pain and fear. Some places made me eat it, but if I can get away with being vegetarian, I'll do it." She looked at the large, muscle-bound black man for a moment. "Not that I hold it against anyone who doesn't know what it's like, of course."

Morgan nodded at her. "I can get that." He wouldn't say this, but he now viewed the ham on his plate in a totally different way. He didn't want to eat it, but then, he couldn't let a mere idea get in his way. Besides, he wasn't about to return it to the original platter. He forced himself to dig in a little, and since the whole team had paid attention to the entire exchange, everyone now cut less ham than they would have originally, with Seaver avoiding it entirely, instead heaping corn, green beans, and mashed potatoes on her plate.


End file.
